Congratulations.
This surely must have taken a lot of time and effort to achieve. Note that, even though there are others with significantly more followers, your achievement is still noteworthy. It also serves as an encouragement to others - especially the newbies like me, and those who had been neglecting to put in more effort.

Since you are on a roll, keep it up. I believe that at Steemit, the principle of Success begets more success hold true. Most likely the next 1,000 followers will be much easier for you...since you have the base and experience.